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For weeks, they've been scouring their homes and cracking open their safes to retrieve vintage necklaces, family heirlooms and other expensive pieces containing the precious metal that can be melted for cash.

"It happens with every gold spike," said Jeff Clark, a market analyst and founder of . "If you've got a lot of old gold jewelry, it's basically free money."

The price of gold hit an all-time high of $3,397 per ounce on April 21 and is up 27% from the beginning of the year, driven by factors including geopolitical tensions, tariff turmoil and increased demand from central banks.

Boon for independent stores

Gold has long been considered a safe-haven asset during times of economic uncertainty, viewed by investors as a hedge against inflation and stock market volatility. And, when demand is strong, items made with gold can be lucrative for owners to offload.

"Everyone's like, 'If I have some gold jewelry, if my grandparents or my mother or father left me something, maybe I can get some money for it since everything else is down and inflation is killing everyone's purchasing power and consumption,'" said Alex Arakeloglu, a sales associate at Capri Jewelry in downtown Los Angeles. 

The influx of customers looking to trade in or sell their gold pieces has been a boon for independent jewelers, who have been grappling with steep wholesale prices for new items. Many also are worried that President Donald Trump's tariffs could further drive up costs for imported precious metals and diamonds.

Out of the (jewelry) box

On a recent afternoon, Rosie Juda arrived at her longtime jeweler's second-floor L.A. studio with plastic bags full of gold jewelry, some of which had been in her family for generations.

Spreading the glimmering pieces on a glass-topped table between them, Olivia Kazanjian, owner of Jewelry by Olivia K, examined each with a loupe: rings set with blue and red gemstones, an inscribed cigarette case, a chunky necklace with large shiny beads, sea urchin-shaped clip-on earrings from Tiffany & Co., a whimsical clown figurine with a wide grin.

"Well, it turns out you made some really good choices investing in gold," Kazanjian said as she placed the items one by one on a scale. For pieces of unknown purity, she performed a quick scratch test using an acid kit to help determine the metal's karat composition.

Lately, Kazanjian has seen "a revolving door" of clients eager to melt their jewelry collections. But she's urging caution.

"Sometimes it's very clear when you get jewelry in that's like, 'Nope. This is not to be melted, you've got to hold onto this,' " she said. "Antique pieces are not worth it — you'll never, ever see that craftsmanship again."

For Juda, 56, it's about taking advantage while gold is a hot commodity. The timing is especially fortuitous, with two daughters in college and hefty tuitions to pay.

"Priorities in your life change. Do I want all this stuff sitting in the safety deposit box?" the retired set decorator said. "Let it go, it's just time."

Over the next two hours, jeweler and collector pored over nearly 40 pieces, separating them into neat piles. Kazanjian persuaded Juda to keep some of the rarer items as-is, and will redesign a few others to give them a fresh look.

The largest was the melt pile, a mound of discarded jewelry for which Kazanjian offered to pay Juda $9,500 — a figure she calculated by estimating the grams of pure gold in each piece and multiplying it by the current market price of the metal, before subtracting melting and processing fees. She'll write Juda a check at the end of the session and take the items to a refinery.

Wealth not guaranteed

Despite the current mania, Clark, the gold market analyst, noted that jewelry owners bringing in old pieces "probably won't get rich off of it."

Many will try nonetheless. During a previous spike in gold prices, Clark said, people were asking morticians for permission to pull gold teeth from the mouths of dead family members.

"You can sell anything that has gold in it," he said. "Some morgues will let you do it."